All I Wanted
by demijayy
Summary: Feliciano Vargas was working as a poor waiter at the local bar "Caffè Nero," thinking he had never made a bigger mistake in his life by leaving his home in Sicily, until he met a breathtaking Ukrainian tourist named Katya.
1. Memories

The metal ping of Euros hitting a tin can sounded off in the small apartment bedroom. Feliciano sighed and took a step away from the wardrobe to get a good look at himself in the rusting metal framed mirror. Dark circles settled under his eyes, of which was to be expected on a 20-year-old waiter working three shifts at the local bar "Caffè Nero."

Feliciano stretched his arms high above his head, hearing every upper body joint crack. It was amazing how exhaustion added age to his usual youthful appearance. His olive skin, just a year ago had a sunglow, but it had dulled over time. His auburn hair hung in front of his coffee colored eyes. Feliciano studied his own face while he ran a hand through the mess on top of his head. He really needed a haircut, but with tips coming in as slow as they were, taming the mane just wasn't in the cards.

He unbuttoned his white collared shirt and threw it in the corner along with the other dirty clothes that needed to be washed. The thought crossed his mind that it was time to do laundry, but sleeping sounded more appealing.

His eyes traveled down to his bare torso, and he slid a hand over his belly button. The Italian had gotten a bit skinnier as well. Eating wasn't his number one priority either. He ate when he could, but he was young, able to live off of little to no food and get through the long night shifts.

Feliciano slowly turned around and looked at the mattress with the single pale yellow sheet lying on top of it, on the floor. As he dragged himself to lie on the makeshift bed, his thoughts went to the beautiful summers at the villa. Him and his brother playing soccer in the field, while his grandfather worked on his boats. Those were the best days of his life, but there was no point in thinking about them now. It was as if it was a separate existence, almost a dream on the brink of being forgotten.

He tried to imagine the sweet smell of grass when he missed the ball, tripped and landed face first onto the ground. This used to be a common occurrence when he played with his brother. While sprawled out on his mattress could remember Lovino's voice in his memories quite clearly.

- - -

"You gotta' keep up fratello!" the dark haired boy laughed and showed off, bouncing the soccer ball back and forth on his knees.

"You've been playing longer than me Lovino," Feliciano lifted himself off of the ground and attempted to rub the grass stains out if his shorts.

"That's no excuse," the older brother started to bounce the ball on his head over and over again, smiling triumphantly.

"Show off," Feliciano grinned and hit the ball off course. Lovino pushed him back onto the ground. "I could have broken my record," he sat down next to his younger brother on the grass. They both laughed, but it gradually died away after a few minutes causing a comfortable silence.

"What's going to happen when we grow up?" Feliciano broke the moment of stillness, looking up at the bright blue sky.

"What are you talking about Feli? I'm already grown up! I'm nineteen years old," Lovino crossed his arms and looked over at his brother.

"Yes but... have you ever wanted to explore what's beyond this countryside?" Feliciano's voice became dreamy and almost far away.

"Not really. I'm just fine here; chasing the girls around the village and kicking your ass at soccer," Lovino pushed his shoulder playfully. Feliciano knew he would say something along those lines. His older brother was most likely going to stay here and help their grandfather with fishing. He expected that he'd never leave.

"Well I want to go one day. I would love to see the snow in Russia, or the deserts of Egypt. Wouldn't that be fantastic?" Feliciano closed his eyes and leaned back onto the soft grass. The older Italian seemed uninterested, but didn't say anything and lied back as well. "Next year, when I turn eighteen, I'm moving to the city," he continued.

"What the hell? No you're not Feliciano. What city are you even talking about anyway? It's one thing to dream but you have to stay here," Lovino almost pleaded in panic.

"Why? There's nothing more for me here. I want to see more places, I'm sure I could make it on my own."

"You can hardly handle a soccer ball, how do you expect to handle the city? Plus, what do you think you're going to do once you get there?" His signature 'older brother protective qualities' were beginning to kick in.

"I'm not sure. I'll get a job and start a life, if I don't like that life… then I'll just move somewhere else and start over," Feliciano looked over at his brother, who had a mix of worry and anger written on his face.

"Well- well what about getting married huh? You expect to find some city girl out there? She won't give a little country boy a single thought!" Lovino was starting to raise his voice in fear.

"Maybe that's true. I don't know. I'm not looking for love though, I'm looking for adventure," Feliciano got up and made his way over too the soccer ball. "Now come on, I need to get as good as you fratello!" He smiled and kicked the ball to Lovino as he lifted himself up as well.

Lovino gave a smirk and started to run with the ball across the widespread field. "I highly doubt that will happen at the rate you're going Feli," he laughed.

Laughter turned into an obnoxious beeping sound in Feliciano's ear. Half asleep and blindly searching for the source of the sound he hit the alarm clock on the floor. "Time for work Speranza," the Italian muttered as his fat brown cat sat next to him on the bed. The cat purred and nuzzled against his face. "Well I'm glad you're excited," the brunette chuckled and scratched behind his ears.

"I suppose you want breakfast then, hm?" he reluctantly got up from the mattress to get ready for the day. He had another long couple of shifts ahead of him.


	2. Meeting

_Hey everyone! So apparently I'm getting some good reviews so far and Ukraine hasn't even been introduced yet! I'm also getting a lot of, "Oh wow this is a new pairing!" You're right! I have yet to see any fan fiction with them together yet. So here I go! They're my second OTP. I hope you come to love them just as much as me._

Feliciano didn't know how much more he could take of complaining tourists and their screaming children. He made his way back to the kitchen and grabbed a pack of cigarettes from his coat hanging on the hook. "I'm taking my break now," he strode passed the cooks and out the back door. As soon as the door closed he leaned against the stone building, lit up a cigarette, and inhaled. He had only taken up smoking a couple of months ago; one of the other waiters suggested it would calm his nerves. He was right, it did do the trick but it wasn't something he was proud of.

The chilly November wind made the brunette shiver but it also woke him up a bit. The smoke filled his yearning lungs and every ounce of stress was almost completely forgotten upon exhale. Feliciano's head lied back onto the wall in exhaustion; he closed his eyes and breathed in the crisp air. A couple of minutes of silence passed, and half of his stress reliever was gone when he noticed the door open next to him.

"Sorry Feli, the boss wants you back in there. It's too busy to take your full break all at once," a young Italian bus boy by the name of Domenico, slouched against the wall next to him. Feliciano smiled and ran a hand through the boy's messy mop of hair. He couldn't help to be friendly to people, no matter how stressed out he was. "Wanna finish this for me?" he held up the cigarette. The boy's eyes lit up, "Sure!" Feliciano raised the cigarette high above his head and he laughed, "Oh no, you're too young to start this nasty habit." 

The bus boy's face fell and he gave a glare. "Sorry Mimmo*, when you're older I'll think about it," Feliciano put out the cigarette, and put it in the box to save for later.

He couldn't help but think of his older brother when he looked at Domenico. He reminded him so much of Lovino, but this time Feliciano got to play the older one.

He made his way into the kitchen and Domenico followed.

Feliciano peeked out the kitchen door to survey the tables he needed to take care of. A family of four, a couple, and a single woman sitting in the corner; he could handle it. He decided to start with the woman. He straightened up and glided over to the table. He had a way of turning what looked like the most tiring of situations into a breeze.

When he arrived at the table he looked down at the quiet woman. "Buon giorno, signorina! My name is Feliciano and I'll be your server. Can I get you anything to drin-" he didn't get to finish his sentence when the words were caught in his throat. The woman's ice blue eyes looked up at him curiously. He had never seen such a color in irises before. Her pale white skin and nearly silver colored hair were so completely exotic to him that he couldn't find the words to complete his introduction.

The woman stared at him, wondering if he was going to finish. She shrugged and looked down at the menu, "P-posso av-ire un caffè pur favore?" she looked back up at the Italian.

"Uh- a coffee? You want a coffee? You know I can speak English as well," he chuckled and wrote down the order on his notepad.

"Oh I know, I'm just practicing my Italian," she smiled.

"I see... well you're pretty good," he assured her.

"You don't need to lie to me," she shook her head and giggled.

He didn't say anything but took a moment to study her features. Her short, straight and silver-blonde hair bobbed around her ears but slightly curled at the ends. The wisps of hair she had for bangs were held back with two overlapping bobby pins like a cross. Her nose had a small bump on the bridge, was a bit longer than most and pointed at the end. It'd seem as though with features so sharp and skin so white she would have a look of cruelty on her face, but on the contrary she held a small smile. She wore a black turtleneck, of which she kept pulling at in a nervous habit.

"Do you want anything else?" Feliciano asked.

"Not right now, thank you," she handed him the menu and smiled.

"I'll be right back with that in a moment," he took the menu and slowly backed away, nearly knocking over another waiter's tray. She stifled her laughter and pretended like she didn't see anything.

The Italian had never seen anyone so breathtakingly gorgeous in his entire life. She was so different from any other girls back in the village or the ones who tour Venice. He poured a cup of coffee from the pot, put it on a small saucer, and grabbed some sugar packets and creamer. He made his way back to the table and set it down in front of her. "Thank you," she took a sip of the drink and sighed happily. When she noticed that he was still standing there she grinned, **"Che buono caffè."

"I hope you don't mind me asking... but where are you from? Your accent doesn't sound American," Feliciano scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"I don't mind you asking at all. I'm actually from Ukraine," she took another sip of the black coffee.

"Oh wow, that's so fascinating!" Feliciano exclaimed. "What are you doing in Italy?"

"Well aren't you the nosey one," she wrinkled her pointed nose and breathed a small laugh.

"Ah-ah you're right. Mi dispiace," he started to walk away in embarrassment.

"I'm joking with you!" the blonde giggled. "I just... I guess I just wanted to get out of my own country for a while and experience other places..." There was a moment of silence until she thrust out her hand to him. "I'm Yekaterina."

"Yak-ter-eena?" He took her hand and shook it, regretting the moment their fingers let go.

"You can call me Katya," the woman took another short sip of coffee.

"I'm Felici-"

"I know you said that earlier," she giggled and cut him off.

"Oh right, well you can call me Feli," Feliciano smiled, wanting so badly to sit at the booth with the young woman.

"I like Feliciano more. It's very Italian," Katya stated before taking another sip. The Italian couldn't help the blush that spread across his cheeks as he looked down at his feet.

Suddenly, Domenico tapped him on the shoulder, startling him out of his flirtatious attitude. "You still have two other tables to take care of, and there's a line starting to build up," the boy jogged over to a table that needed cleaning.

"I guess you should go and do you job then, huh?" Katya glanced around the room at the other tables waiting to be served.

"Yeah I should do that," Feliciano walked away from the woman toward the family of four. He felt her eyes follow him as he asked what they wanted from the menu and grabbed orders from the bar and kitchen.

The Ukrainian woman stayed in the corner with her cup of coffee for an hour or so, reading a book that she had brought with her.

The busy lunch rush finally died down, and Feliciano walked back over to Katya, who was buried deep into her book.

"I'm back! Sorry for the wait. Do you want another cup of coffee?" he asked, startling her a bit. She looked up and smiled. "No I'm fine," she took a quick look at her watch, folded the page of her book, closed it, and scooted out of the booth to stand up. "I actually should be going." She was a couple of inches taller than the Italian, and Feliciano had to tilt his head up slightly to look into her eyes. She reached into the pocket of her skirt and took out a small pile of Euros in her fist, and let them drop into his upturned hand.

They locked eyes for a moment while their hands still touched. She tilted the corner of her mouth up a bit, creating a half smile, as she let her fingers drift from his palm. Hugging the book to her chest with both arms, she gracefully glided toward the door.

It wasn't until Katya was completely out of sight that Feliciano grew the biggest smile across his face. He looked down at his palm containing six Euros shining in the light. However, he noticed there was another round piece of metal he didn't recognize. It was gold with a giant "1" imprinted on it. Written under the number were the symbols, "гривні." He assumed this must have been some type of Ukrainian currency.

He took the coin in his other hand a flipped it a couple of times, watching it reflect light at different angles.

"What's that?" Mimmo had suddenly appeared behind him looking at the metal circle curiously.

"I'm not sure exactly," Feliciano studied the coin closer, flipping it over a couple of times in his fingers. The other side of the coin looked as if there was a shield or coat of arms, and at the top was written, "УКРАЇНА."

Feliciano lay on his mattress that night, fiddling with the mysterious coin, and thinking about the striking woman he had met that day. He tried to remember every feature, from her pointed nose, to her delicate white fingers gripping the coffee mug.

He rolled over onto his side and placed the coin onto the floor next to his bed. He knew little to nothing about this woman, how could she be keeping him awake at night? All he knew for sure was that, her name was Katya, she was from Ukraine, and he needed to see her again.

_*Mimmo – The Italian nickname for "Domenico" AKA Dominic._

_**Che buono caffè – What good coffee_


	3. Hello Again

"You've been staring out that window for two days. I don't think 'la tua ragazza' is coming back," Domenico broke Feliciano out of his trance of watching the passing pedestrians and bicycles outside.

He smiled, "She's not my girlfriend Mimmo. Who says I'm watching for her?"

"Well seeing as you've been completely distracted and you can't stop touching that coin in your apron pocket, I would predict that's why you can't take your eyes off of the street," the little Italian bus boy rolled his eyes and put a stack of clean white dishes on the bar counter.

"Alright, alright point taken," Feliciano's hands shot up defensively innocent. "I just can't stop thinking about her." He wore a far off look that anyone could have guessed was a bad case lovesickness.

"Yeah well next time choose a girl that actually lives around he-" Mimmo's words were caught in his throat when he saw said Ukrainian woman walk through the door.

"What?" Feliciano followed his gaze to the door and a smile that most would consider completely goofy appeared on his face. Katya took a quick look around and spotted the booth she was sitting in a couple of days before. She walked over, sat down and started reading what looked to be the same book that she had the other day.

Feliciano smoothed out his messy hair as best he could, it still needed a good combing, but it would have to do for now. Domenico rolled his eyes and took the stack of plates into the kitchen. The Italian took a deep breath before approaching the booth. When he arrived at her side, she looked up, and he could have sworn his heart stopped again. He wondered to himself if this off-tempo beat was going to start up every time she looked at him.

"You're back," he exclaimed, trying not to sound too excited.

"Yes I am," she gave a soft giggle and continued, "The coffee is just too good here I suppose." She brushed back her bangs with her cream like fingers. Today she wore a light blue headband, instead of the crossed bobby pins that held her bangs in place before. Feliciano noticed this little detail, along with the change in color of her wardrobe. She had gone from a black turtleneck to a sky blue one. He vaguely wondered if she had a small obsession with that style of shirt.

He noticed his own silence and shook himself out of it. "Well that's always good to hear. So one coffee then?"

"Yep you guessed it. Solo caffè."

"Practicing more Italian I see?" he asked as he threw the notepad into his apron pocket. She nodded a yes, and he turned on his heal to fetch the order.

Luckily the restaurant was having a slow day, so Feliciano could take his time with things. He poured the coffee into a mug, and set the cream and sugar on the side of the saucer, although she didn't seem to use it, and brought it back to the table.

When the brunette started on his way into the kitchen he heard her voice behind him.

"Feliciano."

His body froze, but his blood pressure rose. The sound of her saying his name gave him invigorating chills. He turned around, "Yes?"

"I have a question for you," she folded her hands on the tabletop, and tilted her head slightly to look at him. He watched her facial expression as she tried to prepare what she wanted to say. "You've lived in Venice for a while, right?"

He was a bit surprised by the question, "For about a year and a half, why?"

"Well I've been doing such tourist clichés and… I was wondering what else there is to do in this beautiful city." She took a sip of coffee while waiting for his answer.

He grinned, "There are tons of things to do in Venice! You just have to know where to look."

"Could you show me?" Katya asked immediately after. She looked a bit embarrassed as a small flush appeared on the apples of her cheeks.

"Show you Venice? Like, give you a tour?" he chuckled at the thought and felt his erratic heart attempting to escape his chest again.

"You could be my little tour guide," she winked and held the mug in both hands, close to her lips.

Feliciano felt his heart start to race even faster. All he could think about was her word choice; '_my_ little tour guide.' He cleared his throat and tried not to blush too noticeably. "I think… I can manage that," he couldn't help the corners of his mouth that pulled into a smile.

"Bene," she exclaimed, and tapped her fingernails against the porcelain coffee mug. To Feliciano, it seemed like the only sound worth hearing in the room. "Are you free tomorrow?"

The Italian was almost never free, and tomorrow was no exception. He racked his brain for some way to get out of work. He hadn't taken a sick day in almost six months. That should do; it was very rare for him to be ill. "Yes, I am actually."

"Great," Katya held a small but sweet smile on her face as she looked up at Feliciano. Her eyes were such an intense ice blue that Feliciano wanted to turn away, but they were too beautiful not to stare at.

Before he could stop himself, he said something he didn't expect. "Katya… do you mind if I also take you to dinner tomorrow night?"

The expression on her face flashed surprise when her eyes widened a bit and her cheeks flushed pink. She looked down at her coffee cup and watched the steam rise for an immeasurable amount of time. "I…" she paused. "I'm flattered but, I think I'm a bit old for you Feliciano," she admitted.

"Oh…" The Italian's confidence faltered a bit, but he attempted to shake himself out of it. He was determined to go on a date with this woman. "But I'm twenty-one years old," he argued.

"You look younger than twenty-one…" she trailed off and gave him a quick glance up and down. "Well either way, I'm twenty-seven."

"Well _you_ look younger than twenty-seven," Feliciano countered with a grin. "And I hardly think six years to be a big age difference," he then found himself sitting across from her at the booth.

Katya looked speechless as she mulled over her thoughts some more. She looked down at her fidgeting hands, pinching and pulling her fingers in no real pattern. When she finally looked up, Feliciano's was still sitting across from her. His smile hadn't faltered since she looked last.

"I don't think I'm ready for any type of relationship right now… could we possibly have dinner as friends?" she suggested.

Feliciano decided he would have to deal with these terms for now. A date as friends was better than no date at all. "So tomorrow night then. After I show you around Venezia," he winked.

"Yes… that sounds like a very good plan," the right corner of her lips turned up in a half smile and then she picked up her book and began reading, almost as if a signal that the conversation was over.

Feliciano took that as his queue to leave, and got up from the booth. He idly wondered what the unlabeled blue book might be about. She seemed so invested in those pages, and he wanted to know what made her so interested.

He continued to work throughout the day; taking orders, making drinks and glancing over at Katya when he got the chance. It wasn't until late afternoon that she got up to leave. She scooted out of the booth and came up to the bar counter where Feliciano was creating a cappuccino.

"Here's money for the coffee, and your tip," she lay out a nicely creased currency of five Euros, with another piece of paper lying next to it. She started to walk toward the door.

"What's this?" Feliciano lifted up the small piece of paper and flipped it to find a sequence of numbers.

"My phone number," she turned her head to give him a small smile, and then walked out of the shop. He looked down at the paper and felt his heart beat faster. It was going to happen, he was really going to have a date with Katya. It wasn't a date exactly, but he had some plans to change that.


	4. Love Sick

_Thank you for being patient everyone! I know it's been 6 months since the last update, I've just been really busy with school, and then my summer job. Yadaydayada, I know you don't wanna hear it. Hahaha. So enjoy the fourth chapter! I made it longer than the other chapters just because of the wait I know you all endured._

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Nothing in this world could dash a certain Italian's spirits today. This was going to be the best day in the history of his young life, he had decided.

Feliciano had everything planned. He called work to tell him that he was sick, and just couldn't make it out of bed. He considered this a white lie, for he most definitely was coming down with something. He decided to diagnose himself with lovesickness.

He had cleaned up nicely today, but not too formally. He wore a button down, long sleeve maroon shirt. There were a couple of buttons undone, to make it seem more casual. And some of his good pants. He combed out his hair so that it didn't resemble a used mop as much, and he made sure to do some final grooming touches.

When he surveyed himself in the mirror, he smiled and gave himself an encouraging nod and peptalk.

"You look good today Feli. Katya won't know what hit her when she sees you," he said with confidence at his reflection.

Now, he decided it was time to call Katya. He picked up his phone and took a deep and cleansing breath before actually dialing her number.

"Hello?" A woman answered, but he didn't recognize it to be Katya.

"Hi- uhm," he cleared his throat with a hint of nervousness. "Is Katya there?"

"Oh you must be the coffee boy," she sighed. Her accent was just as thick as Katya's, but her voice was a bit more shrill.

"Yes, my name is Feliciano. Katya and I are supposed to be-"

"On a date, I know," she said with irritability.

It was then that Feli could hear Katya's voice in the background. "It's not a date Natalia. And tell him our address so he can meet me at the hotel."

'Natalia' heaved a giant sigh but told him the address anyway. After Feliciano had it memorized, he was about to hang up when Natalia whispered something.

"Look coffee boy, I know it's a date. She wouldn't try to primp herself up as much if it wasn't. I would suggest you get here before our brother comes back from his errands today. He won't like that you're taking her out."

Feliciano gulped audibly in fear, but also in excitement. He couldn't contain the joy trying to escape his body, at the thought that even her sister called it a date.

"Good to know," Feliciano agreed and said his goodbyes and hung up the phone.

Feliciano skipped down the stairs of his apartment, and hopped on his scooter. It wasn't much of a vehicle, but he bought it when he moved here, and since it's still running after about a year and a half of rattling and shaking down some cobble stone roads, he decided name it *Fedele.

The light blue little motor scooter rumbled to a start, and he grabbed one of his helmets from the basket of the vehicle, and then was on his way.

It wasn't long before he arrived at the address of the hotel. He leaned Fedele against the kick stand outside, and then started inside. Natalia had given him the room number as well, so when he arrived to the door, he took a deep breath and knocked.

"Who is it? Ivan I swear, if it's you, and you forgot your room key again I'm going to go insane!" A woman called from the other side. Feli could recognize her voice anywhere, it was Katya.

"No, it's Feliciano!" he called out. And it was only a few seconds before Natalia opened the door and looked down at him with intimidating icy eyes. Nearly identical to Katya's.

So you're the coffee boy?" she asked and looked him up and down while leaning against the doorframe.

"Yep! Feliciano," he said with a smile, and held out his hand to shake.

She just stared at his outreached hand for a moment, with disgust, and then looked back into his eyes.

"Lucky for you, our brother is still doing some errands," she sighed. "You're so small, he'd probably break you in two if-" At that moment Katya emerged from the room and cut Natalia off.

"That's enough from you," she pointed an accusatory finger at woman with long blonde hair. "Don't listen to her Feli, she's just upset that she has to stay in the hotel all day by herself."

Feliciano didn't know if he even knew what she was saying. All he could comprehend was how incredibly perfect she looked. She wore a white and flowing dress that went right to her knees, and a blue turtleneck jacket that had silver buttons up the front. She was wearing that same light blue headband that she wore the other day. But this time she looked significantly different. He realized that it must be that she's wearing makeup. Her blue eyes were accentuated even more than before with gold eyeshadow, and she wore the lightest of pink lipstick.

When Feliciano realized he hadn't answered her for a little too long of a moment, and shook his head and laughed. "So should we get going?" Feli asked.

"Yes," she nodded with a giggle.

"Have fun on your date!" Natalia called after them down the hallway.

"Not a date, Nat!" she yelled back, and looked down at Feliciano and rolled her eyes. "Again, I'm sorry about her. She's just feeling a little left out today," she explained.

"It's okay," Feli laughed and bit his bottom lip nervously as he looked away.

"So your brother..." Feliciano started but then stopped when he realized he didn't have much else to say about that.

"Oh Ivan is just a big teddy bear, don't you worry about him," she hushed and waved a hand.

"Is he your big brother or...?"

"No, actually, he's my little brother. I'm the oldest. But with the way he acts, you'd think he was," she chuckled and stuck her hands in her jacket pocket as they walked. "What about you? Do you have any siblings?"

"Just one," Feli answered. "My older brother Lovino."

"Ah, I see. I don't think it matters if brothers are older or younger, they all have this overbearing way of protecting their siblings, wouldn't you agree?" she asked.

"Yes, Lovino was definitely the protective type," Feliciano agreed.

"Was?" she asked with curiosity. 

"I live on my own now," the brunette explained. "I used to live on the countryside with my Grandfather and brother, but now it's just me and my cat." It wasn't until after he said it that Feliciano realized how terribly pathetic that all sounded.

"That must be so lonely," she frowned with concern.

"It has it's moments," he sighed. "But then again I brought it all on myself. I'm the one who wanted to explore and see new places."

At that point they were out the door and smelling the salty city air. "So where's your car?" she asked.

He couldn't help but laugh when he gestured toward his scooter. "No car, just Fedele."

Her jaw dropped for a moment when she stared at the lonely scooter standing in the street.

"I've- I've never ridden a scooter before," she admitted nervously.

"Don't worry, I'm an experienced scooter driver. I won't let anything happen to you," Feli grinned, kissed her hand lightly and then walked over to Fedele. He handed her the extra helmet he made sure to bring, and then put on his own as he mounted the vehicle. "All you have to do is sit in this seat in back of me, and wrap your arms around my waist and hold on tightly.

He watched as Katya cautiously placed the helmet on her head, and then sat on the back seat. "Just... just don't go too fast, please?" she asked quietly and then held onto his waist for dear life. Feliciano could feel a chill go through his entire body when he looked down to see Katya's hands resting on his torso.

"Alright we'll start off slow," he chuckled and started up the motor. He felt her jump behind him but he pretended not to notice. He kicked off the ground just slightly and they started on their way.

"So where are we going?" she asked loudly, in fear her voice would be drowned out by the motor.

"Well I was just thinking we'd start off simple and go to Giardini Pubblici. It's a park combined with a garden not too far from here. Is that okay?"

She hummed in agreement, and he then sped up the scooter. He noticed that Katya's grip on him attempted to loosen itself along the ride. He assumed that she must have been getting used to the bumpy journey. He half wished that she would hold onto him as tightly as she was before though.

.

When they arrived at the park, he parked his scooter near the entrance and took off his helmet. Katya followed suit and they walked in. He watched the woman's eyes widen as she looked around the courtyard landscape.

"This is beautiful," she breathed.

"Yes, it is," Feliciano agreed quietly.

"Do you come here a lot?" she asked.

"No, I never have time unfortunately," he chuckled with a hint of sadness. "I'm always working."

"That's so sad," she said as she knitted her brows. "You came to the city for adventure and you don't even get to explore?"

"I suppose that's just the story of my life," he sighed. "But I'm exploring with you a little today," he added hopefully.

"That's true," she nodded and looked away toward the fountain.

There was a pause of comfortable silence between them as they walked around the gardens. The only sounds that were audible were chirping birds, and other tourist's murmuring from afar.

"So what are you reading?" Feliciano suddenly asked, and it seemed to startle Katya a bit.

"Oh... you mean when I come into the coffee shop?" she asked.

"Yeah, that book you bring with you."

"It's just... a medical book," she shrugged casually.

"A medical book? What, are you training to be a doctor?" Feli joked.

"No, not exactly... it just interests me I suppose. It's very informative."

"Is the book on anything in particular? Or just general medical topics?' he asked with interest.

"It's mostly centered around cancer actually," she said without skipping a beat.

"That's such a sad thing to be casually reading don't you think?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's only sad when emotions are put with it. Reading how is spreads... or how it works is just science. And only then is it just fascinating."

Feliciano took this into consideration, "I suppose so."

.

The rest of their day passed by quickly, and it wasn't long before the two had gone to every park, garden, dock and interesting building in the city of Venice. It was nearing midnight when the two passed by Caffè Nero, and Feliciano had the perfect idea.

"Katya, you know how you said I could take you to dinner tonight, right?" he turned his head to ask.

"Yes... as friends," she warned, but with a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

Suddenly Feliciano turned the scooter sharply, and made a U-turn back to the bar.

"What are we doing here?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm making us dinner," he said with a smile, as if it was the most obvious explanation in the world.

"But it's closed..."

"Yes, yes it is."

"We can't just break into your workplace!" she gasped with wide eyes.

"I wouldn't call it breaking in when I have the spare key," he chuckled, even though he knew that if he was caught, he would most definitely lose his job. But he realized he was willing to do anything for this woman, and if "breaking into" the bar was one of those things, he was ready to do it.

Feliciano inserted the key and unlocked the bar's door. He reached back and took Katya's hand to pull her inside. He closed the door behind them, and then turned on a light or two. He didn't want the entire place to be lit up in fear they'd get caught, but dim lighting was kind of what he was going for anyway.

"Alright, so you just sit here," he said and pulled Katya to sit down in one of the wooden chairs. "And I'll get started on dinner."

She gave a nervous smile but nodded and sat down anyway.

Feliciano ran into the kitchen and started to prepare food as quickly as possible. He hadn't cooked in a while, but he got the hang of it again. Cooking and baking had always come naturally to him.

"Feliciano breezed back into the main part of the bar, and watched as Katya fidgeted with her fingers anxiously. He could tell she wasn't comfortable in the situation at all, so he decided it was his job to change that.

Feliciano walked over to the stereo near the counter, and put on a random slow moving instrumental music CD into the player. He walked back over to Katya and looked down at her.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked, and reached out a waiting hand toward her.

She bit her lip and then smirked up at him. "What happened to this not being a date?"

"It isn't," he commented. "Friends can dance with each other."

"In dim lighting, and with slow music?" she asked unconvinced.

"Of course," he said, his grin not faltering.

She couldn't help but mirror his smile, and stood up and took his hand.

Feliciano wrapped his hand around her waist, and she put hers on his shoulder.

"You know... this seems a bit strange. I've never danced with anyone taller than me," he laughed.

She laughed but didn't have much of a response to that.

"Aren't you hot?" Feliciano asked and looked at her turtleneck jacket. "You can take that off you know," he suggested.

"Uh," she swallowed with a nervous look written on her face. "No it's fine," she shook her head.

"Are you okay?" Feliciano furrowed his brow.

"Yes, I'm fine. I just... don't really like taking off my jacket in front of people I don't know really well."

"That doesn't make much sense," he laughed but her look remained serious. "Okay, so how can you get to know me better, so that you'd be more willing to take your jacket off so you can feel cooler?"

She bit her bottom lip and looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Tell me more about your family."

"Well, my Grandfather is a fisherman, and my brother, Lovino, helps him out sometimes. He has a job of his own in town though. He just works at a small store, and chases the girls around the village. I don't think he'll ever settle down until my Grandfather makes him. He just goes from girlfriend to girlfriend. I used to do that too... but not since moving here. I don't have time for dating," he laughed. "My parents left when I was too little to remember, and my grandmother passed away about five years ago. So it's just been my grandfather, brother and I."

"I'm sorry about your grandmother and parents," she frowned, as they still danced and swayed on the floor.

"It's not something to be sorry about. Things like that happen," he sighed. "But that's why Lovino didn't want me to leave. We had become really close growing up, because we basically only had each other. Especially when our grandfather would go out on long fishing trips. Lovino and I would just cook for ourselves, and play soccer all day long."

"Wow," she whispered and looked off in thought.

"What is your family like?" he asked.

"Well you've already met Natalia. She's our youngest sister, and she's just a year younger than you. And then there's my brother, Ivan. He's the middle child. He can be a little intimidating at times, to those who don't know him. But on the inside, he is just a marshmallow. He's just quite protective over Natalia and I. However, I was the one to take care of both of them when growing up. We have our parents, but once I had started going to school they had put me in charge of raising them both."

"That sounds like a lot of responsibility," Feliciano chimed in.

"It was," she nodded. "Who am I kidding? It still IS," she chuckled. "I feel like a mother to those two constantly."

.

Feliciano had slowly started to inch closer as they danced and talked with low voices, for the music started to slow down even more. Katya didn't seem to notice a difference though, for she subconsciously stepped a bit closer as well. It wasn't long before their both of their chests touched.

"Feliciano, I-" Katya started, but then stopped suddenly.

"Yes?" he whispered.

"There's- there's a reason that I won't take off my jacket. And... and I reason that I am constantly reading when I come into the coffee shop. But I didn't want to tell you because, I can't deny that there's something about you that I really like. And I don't want either of us to get hurt, especially you. From the first day that I met you here I had a feeling something was going to happen between us. And I wanted so badly to stay away from this coffee shop, because I couldn't let anything happen-"

"You thought something was going to happen between us?" Feliciano interrupted with a sly smile.

"Yes but that's not the point, you don't understand-"

"So this was a date wasn't it?" he continued to talk over here.

"You're not listening to me Feli, I like you a lot, but-"

"But wha-"

"I HAVE CANCER!" she shouted over him. She looked down at their feet, and took a deep breath that filled the incredible screaming silence between them. "I've been diagnosed with- with breast cancer," she choked out the rest.

Feliciano couldn't breath, he couldn't even comprehend what she was saying. She couldn't have cancer. Cancer just doesn't happen to people as beautiful and perfect as Katya. That would be impossible, and cruel, and God wouldn't let something like that happen to this woman, would He? Then Feliciano mentally connected the dots one by one. The medical book, the self-consciousness when it comes to showing her chest, her worrying of getting close to him. It all was starting to make sense to him now.

"Is it... serious?" he asked finally. He wasn't sure what else he could say or ask, but even those three words seemed to make him feel stupid for asking them.

"Yes," she said lowly.

"How- how seri-"

"The doctor says I only have a few months to li-" she stopped and looked off into another direction of the bar. "That's why I'm here," she changed the subject just a bit. "To visit Italy. To see the sights before I leave this planet. I promised myself that I would see Venice at least, and of course my brother and sister came along with me because they're worried. But I told them I wanted to come on my own. They wouldn't hear of it though. I try so hard to pretend that this- this disease doesn't exist. Not for me anyway, and it's not slowly murdering me from the inside, but my brother especially won't let me forget it. He's become so much more protective of me since we found out, and he doesn't want me to do anything extreme. He almost always wants me on bed rest, but I feel fine right now. Why should I be lying around doing nothing, when I know that I have a short time limit to do everything that I want to do?"

"Katya I don't even know what to say," Feliciano looked down at the floor with a saddened face.

"That's why I didn't want to tell you Feli. I didn't want you to be upset about it, and I didn't want us to get too close because I won't be here for much longer and it's just better for us to stay friends."

"I don't want to be friends," he said almost immediately.

"Oh..." Katya cleared her throat and stepped away from him.

"I want to be so much more than friends Katya, I don't think you even understand," Feliciano whispered and pulled her back toward him.

"But what's the point of developing all of these feelings and emotions when they're going to get torn to shreds within a few months?" she whispered with wide eyes.

"Like you said, you're trying to pretend this doesn't exist right?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why should relationships be any different? We both have to go on with life as if it's not happening."

"But all of my... "baggage" doesn't scare you?" she asked.

"Not at all," he breathed. "In fact I will, help you with anything that needs to be done. Like take you to the doctor's office on my scooter," he chuckled.

She couldn't help but crack a smile at that. "But I'll be getting weaker slowly, and I won't be as lively... and I just don't see how it will work..."

"Stop thinking ahead so much. It's just me and you right now. Just us," he repeated and pulled her closer, tilting his head to the side slightly. He could feel her breath stick to his lips, and the tension between them both was overwhelming. Feliciano's head was screaming, _just do it, just lean in and kiss her. She's perfect in every way, and you're just standing there like an idiot while she waits for you to do it._

"Is dinner almost ready?" Katya suddenly whispered and broke Feliciano out of his trance with her lips.

"Yeah- Yeah I think so," Feliciano chuckled, and unlaced his fingers with hers. He turned toward the kitchen and to check on the food.

.

Thirty minutes or so passed by, until they were both full and talking across the table quietly with each other.

"You're a very good cook," she smiled and looked down at their empty plates.

"Thank you," he grinned sheepishly and took her hand that lied on the table.

"What time is it?" she asked suddenly.

Feliciano lazily glanced at the clock to find that it was 2:30 in the morning.

"Oh my God I have to get back to the hotel. Ivan is going to be waiting up for me, I just know it," she panicked and grabbed her things.

"Alright, calm down I'll take you back," Feli soothed and rushed to turn off the lights and music in the bar. Everything looked fairly the same as the way it was when they came in, as Feliciano locked the door and put the spare key in his pocket.

.

They hopped on Feliciano's scooter and made their way down the narrow roads to the hotel. It wasn't long before they skidded to a stop and Katya pulled her helmet off and started toward the door in a hurry. The brunette quickly grabbed her hand though, and pulled her back to him for a brief moment.

"We're going to do this again right?" he asked quietly but with a small smile.

"You mean... go on a date?"

He nodded and waited for her answer as his hand lightly held hers. The contrast in skin color was even more noticeable in the moonlight, for Katya's skin almost looked like an even more creamy white.

"Yes," she replied. "I would love to. But I have to go up there now, or else Ivan will throw a fit."

"Wait," Feliciano stopped her from leaving yet again. He took off his helmet and reached up on his tippy-toes to plant a small kiss on her cheek. Even in the dark he could make out her blush. He could feel his own heart attempting to beat out of his rib cage from their close proximity. Her cheeks was so soft against his lips, it almost didn't feel like human skin to him. "Goodnight," he whispered against her cheekbone.

She smiled back and then started toward the hotel lobby door once again. "Goodnight," she called back before closing the glass door.

Feliciano felt as if someone had filled him with helium and he could float above the entire sleeping city. This grin was insistent on being on his lips, and he couldn't seem to make it go away, no matter how hard he tried. He had never felt so light, and completely joyous in his life. He couldn't get Katya out of his mind, whether it was her icy eyes that somehow showed so much warmth. Or her flawless smile that made her creamy cheek bones rise and create a flushed sheen on her skin. Or her wispy almost silver blonde hair that seemed to look perfect no matter what.

Feliciano climbed onto the scooter again and put his helmet back on, continuing to think about her. Suddenly he felt a cold pit drop into the center of his stomach as he started back home. The doctor told her she only has a few months. Feliciano can't even bare the thought of her being sick or hurt in any way. He heaved a sad sigh as he turned down the rocky side streets. His thoughts conflicted with each other the entire way back to his apartment.

When he got home, he fed Speranza got ready for bed. He so badly wished that there was something, anything, he could do to help Katya. His mind was abuzz with thoughts of Katya until his head hit the pillow, and drowsiness overtook him.


	5. A Second Date

Feliciano woke with a start to a shrill phone ring in his ear. Although he was extremely disoriented, the brunette cracked his eyes open and found the phone lying next to his mattress on the floor. He coughed, trying to find his voice, and then promptly answered the phone.

"Hel- Hello?" he choked out. He didn't even know what time it was, but he was quickly informed when the owner of Cafè Nero was screaming on the other end of the line.

"Where the hell are you Feliciano? You were supposed to be here two hours ago! This must be the seventh time we've called you this morning!" he shouted.

Feliciano nearly jumped from his mattress and hurried to his dresser."I'm so sorry sir, I really don't- I didn't realize how late it was. I slept in and-"

"Enough excuses. Just be here," the owner asserted, and then hung up immediately afterward.

Feliciano threw the phone on the floor as he hopped into his pants one leg at a time. He flew into the bathroom and assessed himself in the mirror. He ran a comb through his auburn mop and decided to ignore the stubble on his face this morning. There just wasn't time to shave.

Before leaving the house, he finished getting dressed, fed Speranza, and took a couple of crackers for the road. He sped down the cobblestone streets faster than usual, which brought a smile to his face. He thought of the amazing day and night he had with Katya yesterday. How she held onto him at first, but slowly got used to the velocity of the vehicle. Feliciano had never met someone so exotically beautiful, funny, and sweet. She literally was everything that he'd want to find in a woman. Then his thoughts traveled to her breast cancer. How could something so terrible happen to someone so perfect? It just didn't make sense. Feliciano had always been a religious man, and he believed that God had a plan for everything and everyone. But there was nothing he could think of, that could justify this beautiful woman getting the worst disease possible.

Soon enough he arrived at the bar and parked his scooter behind the building. He ran inside and found Mimmo cleaning off a table. When he looked up at him he had wide eyes.

"What happened to you this morning? The boss has been yelling about you all morning. He also said something about a break in last night? I don't know man," Mimmo shrugged, although he was a bit skittish. "Oh yeah, and your girlfriend's here again," he added while motioning toward her usual table.

Feliciano's head snapped up to meet eyes with Katya. She had a small smile on her face. The Italian smiled back at her, and put up a finger to signal that he'd be right back. She nodded in response, and Feliciano headed to the kitchen.

"There you are!" the owner barked as soon as Feliciano was in sight. "I need you to wait on tables five, six, seven, and nine. You got that?"

"Yes sir," the Italian nodded hastily. Before he turned away the angry man stopped him.

"Oh, and Feliciano. There was a break-in last night," he added.

"A- A break in?" Feliciano stammered.

"Yes. Nothing was stolen or broken, but I walked in to open up the bar this morning and... something seemed very different. The disc in the stereo is one we haven't played in a couple of years, and some chairs weren't pushed in. Things were just different," he almost said to himself more than to Feliciano. He looked lost in thought for a few moments, until he looked back at the brunette. "So if you hear anything unusual, just let me know. You're my most trusted employee Feli, remember that," he patted the brunette on the shoulder and sighed. "And I don't want to see you late like this again!" he added with a shout. Feliciano nodded vigorously, and went out into the lobby of the bar.

When he looked over at Katya's table, she still sat there reading her medical book. She wore a light pink leather jacket with a diagonal zipper that was completely concealing her chest as always. Feliciano noted that his the tables assigned to him didn't include Katya's. But thankfully he didn't have any customers. The Italian slowly made his way over and put his hand on her table. His shadow loomed over her book, and she looked up with surprise.

"Are you in trouble?" she whispered.

Feliciano gave a short laugh and shook his head. "No, why?"

"Well... I heard that manager guy over there yelling about something. It was in Italian, so I could only make out parts. But I kept repeating your name, and you weren't here yet... so I connected the dots," she shrugged.

"Don't worry about it. This is the first time I've ever been late. I just slept in a bit."

"Oh no! Was it because we were out too late? I'm so sorry!" she said with wide eyes.

Feliciano cracked a smile at her genuine concern, "It was nothing. Don't you worry about it. I was the one who wanted to stay out later, remember? Speaking of... what did you brother say about coming home so late?"

"I actually got lucky. He was asleep when I got home. He was sitting on the floor next to the door, with his head leaned back against the wall. If I knew he wasn't going to be so angry when he woke up, I'd think it was downright adorable," she giggled and bit her bottom lip. "I woke up before he did also, because I didn't want to face him. But I left him a note to tell him I hadn't been out all night at least."

"Good. I think we'd have more problems if he thought I had kidnapped you," Feliciano chuckled and brushed his bangs to the side. Katya laughed and nodded in agreement. "Do you think after my shift ends today you might want to go out again?" he asked hopefully.

"I would love to," Katya smiled and looked down at her book with blush streaking the apples of her cheeks.

"Great. I get off my shift at 8:00 tonight. I'll pick you up after," Feliciano grinned.

"Sounds perfect," Katya nearly whispered.

Out of the corner of his eye, the brunette saw a couple sit down at table seven. "Duty calls," Feliciano chuckled and brought her hand up to his lips. He placed a kiss delicately on her creamy white fingers, and then rested them back down on her book.

Feliciano noticed Katya's blush become more prominent as she scooted out of the booth and left money on the table. "I'll see you tonight then," she said, then made her way to the door.

The rest of the day went slowly as Feliciano kept anticipating their second date. Soon enough the sun was going down in Venice and the street lights gradually lit up. It was 8:00 when Feliciano unbuttoned the top of his shirt a few buttons, and the night shift replacement came in to take over his shift.

"See you tomorrow everyone!" he yelled back to the kitchen, and hurried out the back door toward his scooter.

He traveled the familiar streets until he found himself at Katya's hotel. He parked the scooter and practically skipped down the hallways and jogged up the stairs with excitement. When he arrived at her door, he took a second to brush his hair back with his hands.

He knocked on the door and took a deep breath in, but before he could exhale a giant man answered the door and looked down at him menacingly.

"Um... hello," Feliciano started. He cleared his throat as the man's head tilted to the side to assess him.

A deep voice paired with a thick Russian accent came from the man as he said, "Are you the boy that took Katya out on a date?" he asked.

"I- Uhm- Yes. Yes, I am," he barely choked out an answer. "And you must be her brother Ivan, right?"

"I am," he nodded and squinted his eyes. "You know about her... illness, correct?" he asked with a look of pain in his eyes.

"Yes... I do," Feliciano looked down solemnly.

"And you still want to date my sister?" he asked with doubt coating his tone. "Are you sure you don't want to just sleep with her?"

"No! Oh no, Ivan- Sir. I just really care about her... a lot. I know I've only known her for a few days, but I've never met someone like her before. She's perfect in every way..." he trailed off and realized all of the truth of his words. Sure he had thought these things, but this was the first time he was really saying them out loud.

"Hmm," Ivan mused and looked the smaller Italian up and down once more. "Are you aware of what I will do to you if you hurt her in any way?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know... but I can imagine," Feliciano laughed nervously, and looked at Ivan's large arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Ivan stop it!" Katya interrupted the intimidating conversation and opened the room door wider. She was wearing makeup again, but the same outfit from earlier in the day. "Feliciano is a good guy, and I don't want you scaring him off," she pouted. She grabbed onto Ivan's arm and seemingly put all of her weight on it as she hung there.

Ivan looked down at Katya, although in truth he was only just a few inches taller than her. "You really like this boy- this- Italian boy?" he asked with disbelief.

"I really do," she nodded and kissed Ivan's cheek. For a split second, he could almost swear that a smile flashed across the Russian man's face.

"Fine. But I want you to be home at a reasonable hour. None of this... almost staying out all night business, alright?" he warned Katya.

"Of course Ivan," she assured him and slipped by his enormous figure.

Katya started down the hallway, but before Feliciano could follow, Ivan grabbed him by the collar of the shirt. "I mean it Italian, _do not_ hurt my sister," he whispered and then let go of him.

Feliciano nodded vigorously and then jogged after Katya down the hallway.

"I'm really sorry about him," she sighed and looked down at the floor.

"No it's alright," Feliciano half chuckled, still a little shaken from the warning. "He's just being protective. I understand."

"Yes but sometimes he can be a bit over the top, so I apologize for his behavior," she said.

"You have nothing to apologize for," Feliciano shook his head. "Let's just think about our date."

Katya's frown quickly turned into a smile, "What are we doing tonight anyway?"

"I was thinking we'd take a walk down by the canals or something. Venice is a whole new city at night."

"That sounds wonderful," she grinned.

_I know, leaving you with a cliffhanger is a bit of a dick move. But this next chapter is actually in the works. So at least it'll be out sooner than the others. I'm extremely determined to finish my first chapter story. I always do one-shots because I'm afraid I won't finish chapter fics. But I really want this to be done. Also, thank you for all of the great feedback I've been getting. All of the reviews I've been getting have been super sweet. So thank you again!_


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